Woman in Chains
by AmnesiaSparkles
Summary: Connie is home for Christmas after being away at college, and is nervous about seeing Guy, especially since she's met someone else at school.  Little does she know, Guy's the least of her boyfriendrelated worries.  Mild swearing, so be forewarned.
1. Love loving and you better behave

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Ducks or anything else that Disney might want to sue for. I'm writing this purely for entertainment, not for profit or personal gain.

**A/N: **My other story, _Except Me,_ is on hiatus for an undetermined length of time while I go back and do some rewrites and get my muse back to where it should be. I was watching the first movie with my roommate tonight, though, and inspiration for this story just struck. Hope y'all enjoy.

* * *

As I close my eyes -- feigning sleep, so my dad will stop asking me questions about school and go back to his NPR -- all I can think is, _I can't wait to get home_. 

Don't get me wrong. I love being away at college, I really do. I love my classes, I love my teachers -- well, mostly. I don't like the TA I have for math that spits when he talks -- and I love the friends I'm making in Ohio. And, of course, I've learned to love Buckeye football.

I even think I may be ready to tell Jonah that I love him.

I know, right? Everyone always said Guy and I would be together forever -- us included. But last spring, when we found out that none of the schools we applied to together accepted both of us, we decided to put things on hold while we get used to being apart.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't break my heart. You stay with someone for as long as Guy and I were together and then break up? Heartache is bound to happen. But eventually, it hurt less and less, until it got to the point where we could sit in the same room, not hold hands, and I didn't want to cry. And in the fall, he stayed in Minnesota, while I started my freshman year at the Ohio State University.

That's where I met Jonah.

He sat two seats down from me in my Social and Ethical Philosophy course and nicknamed me "Fargo" because of my Minnesotan accent. He introduced me to his friends, who, like him, had lived in Columbus their entire lives and didn't understand why I couldn't understand football. It took some time, but I'm now a fan, and whenever I hear someone yell "O-H!", my automatic response is to yell back "I-O!"

Jonah wooed me over a steady diet of cheesy knock-knock jokes and Top Ramen. He has, to date, shown me fifty-eight different ways to prepare Ramen noodles, and all of them are delicious. Every Tuesday, we scrape together four quarters so we can go to Half-Price Night at the dollar theater. I've seen every movie Ben Stiller has released in the past four months. After our second date, he kissed me for the first time. After our seventh date, he took me home to meet his parents. After three months, we slept together -- my first time.

After he left, I thought of Guy and cried. Not that there was any doubt in my mind that things were perfect between Jonah and me. They were, and I was more than ready. It's just, I always thought I would lose my virginity to Guy. And it's never easy for me to accept that things sometimes turn out differently than I expect them to.

I have to admit, the closer I get to home, the more nervous I am about seeing Guy again. Seeing _all_ of the Ducks again, actually -- after Christmas, those of us that live out of state are flying into Minneapolis for a reunion. Even those that have given up hockey, like Ken, are willing to get together for the sake of friendship. Or teambuilding, as Charlie prefers to call it.

My dad pulls into the driveway. I open my eyes and step out of the car, breathing in the crisp fall air. I don't know what it is, but winter just _smells_ different in Ohio. I carry my luggage upstairs to my room and grin as I familiarize myself with my old things.

Man, am I glad to be home.


	2. Men of stone

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own the Ducks, still only writing for my own amusement.

**A/N: **There is a brief mention of Maggie, who is referred to as Charlie's sister. I realize that Charlie doesn't _have_ a sister; however, it's a reference to _Except Me_, my Averman/Maggie story. She was a borderline Mary Sue, but...I can't help it. I love that character.

* * *

I'm unpacking in my room after dinner when my phone rings. I check the display. Averman.

"Hey, Les," I answer.

I can hear him chuckle on the other end. "The Velvet Hammer! Are you home now?"

"Yeah, are you?"

"Sure am. I got home this morning." Averman, like me, had given up hockey around the time we got our diplomas; and, like me, had chosen to go to school in Ohio. Instead of cheering for the Buckeyes, though, he decided to root for the Kent State Flashes. At a school that's almost two hours away, plus traffic, I haven't seen Averman since we were both home for Thanksgiving. "I've been over at Charlie's all day."

I grin. "You mean over at Maggie's?" I tease. Averman and Maggie, Charlie's little sister, have been a serious item for the past sixteen months, to which, when they began dating, I said, _it's about freaking time_. Maggie had only been in love with him since the dawn of time, practically.

If you hadn't noticed, I exaggerate a lot.

Averman's voice becomes less cheery. "Actually, um, we broke up right after Thanksgiving." His voice breaks a little, and for a minute I think, _What, no joke to dismiss his broken heart? This doesn't sound like the Averman I know._ "She...I mean, I...well, we had a hard time with the distance thing."

I put my hand over my heart. "Oh, Aves, I'm so sorry," I tell him. "How are you doing?"

"I fucking love her, Connie. I want to be with her and it kills me that I can't. How the hell do you think I'm doing?"

I raise my eyebrows at the vitriol in his voice. "I'm sorry, I thought I was talking to my good friend Lester Averman, not one of the Bash Brothers."

He is immediately remorseful. "Cons, I'm sorry. I don't mean to take it out on you. I just...well, I'm sorry, is all," he says.

"Apology accepted," I reply, stifling a yawn. Jet lag. Ick. I check the clock radio on my nightstand, surprised to see that it's only seven o'clock. "Hey, Averman? You doing anything important tonight?"

"Nothing that can't be put off until tomorrow. Why?"

"Wanna meet me at Mickey's in twenty minutes?" I know I just ate dinner, but I'm suddenly craving a cheeseburger and fries. And maybe a chocolate shake.

He laughs. "Sounds good. I'll see you in twenty." We say our goodbyes and hang up.

When I step through the doors of Mickey's Dining Car twenty-five minutes later, I'm met with a cacophany that can only be caused by Ducks. I wave at Charlie's mom as I take a seat at the counter next to Averman. We exchange hellos and quick hugs, and I wave down the line at Fulton.

I smile as Charlie's mom comes up to take my order. "Hi, Mrs. Bombay," I greet her. _Boy,_ I think, _I still can't believe that she and Coach got married_. She had been married -- for, like, a nanosecond -- to this corporate suit who decided he'd rather marry his Barbie secretary, and moved into a nice house near the park where we all used to play hockey in the summer. About two years ago, when Mickey decided to sell the diner and retire to Palm Springs, she ended up buying the thing for a song, and started dating Coach again. He eventually proposed, and they got married last August.

I got to be a bridesmaid. It was pretty cool.

"Connie, come on," she appeals. "Call me Casey."

I sigh. If it's weird to call her Mrs. Bombay, it's _definitely_ weird to call her by her first name. "I'll try," I tell her. "Uh, can I just get a cheeseburger with ketchup and mayo, and tomato, lettuce, and extra pickles?"

"And to wash it down?"

"Ice water and a chocolate shake, please."

"Coming right up." She rips the ticket off the pad and hands it to Dave, the cook.

I nudge Averman. "Hey, have you heard from Goldberg lately?"

He looks at me, askance, as does Fulton, who is close enough to hear my question. "Are you serious?" he asks.

Uh, yeah? "What?" I know he's not dead. I mean, someone would have called me, right?

Les tears the top off of a paper straw wrapper. He puts the straw up to his mouth and blows the wrapper into my face. "His parents moved back to Philly," he explains. "So, well...that's where he is."

"He'll be here on the twenty-seventh," Fulton adds.

I just stare at them. "When the hell did this happen?" I demand.

"Hey!" I hear Mrs. Bombay -- Casey, I remind myself -- yell. "Don't swear, Connie." She shakes her head and rolls her eyes heavenward, as if to say, _"Kids. What can you do?"_

Parents. I fucking swear. I grin sheepishly and apologize. "I mean, when the heck did this happen? And why didn't anyone tell me?"

"It happened right after school started," Averman responds, indignant, "and I _did_ call you. I left a message with your secretary."

I raise my eyebrows. "I don't _have_ a secretary." I don't even have a roommate. I did, at the beginning of the year, but she got homesick and moved back to Dayton.

"Sure, you do," he jokes. "You know, the guy that answers your phone all the time? Calls you 'Fargo'?"

Jonah. And he never gave me the message! This does not bode well.

Fulton looks at me. "You hang out with a guy that calls you _'Fargo'_?" he asks in disbelief.

"She _dates_ a guy that calls her 'Fargo,'" Averman corrects.

"Uh, why?"

I shake my head and busy myself with the burger that Charlie's mom has just placed in front of me. "You wouldn't understand," I tell him, before I take a huge bite. Delicious. I've missed Mickey's burgers.

Averman shoves a napkin in my face. "You have ketchup and mayonnaise all over your chin," he points out.

"Thanks," I mumble through a mouthful of food. "Anyway," I continue after I swallow my food, "Jonah is a good guy. You'd like him. He's really into the concepts of, like, teamwork and fairness and stuff. He's actually a lot like Charlie, that way," I realize.

"'Like, teamwork and fairness and stuff,'" Fulton repeats, mocking me. "And you're an English major?"

I pick up a fry from Averman's plate and throw it at Fulton. "Shut up. My brain is on Christmas break, too."

Fulton throws the fry back and yawns. "And my brain is ready for sleep," he says.

Averman nods in agreement, and they pay Casey -- see, I remembered! -- for their food. "You know what?" Averman asks, as he pulls another ten out of his wallet. "Add Connie's bill to mine."

I immediately dig my wallet out of my purse. "Aves, I can't let you do that," I protest.

"Sure you can. Just, it's on you next time, okay?"

I nod, even though I have to admit that I'm pretty confused. Averman has never offered to pick up the check for any of us before, so why did he do it just now? I try to shrug it off and shove the question to the back of my head as I hug him and Fulton goodbye, then drive home for some much needed sleep.


End file.
